Inside the stock exchange hall, the onlookers grew excited as they witnessed the tense standoff between the two sides.
Just as everyone expected the two sides to exchange harsh words—or even come to blows—they instead locked eyes briefly before each group went their separate ways.
In truth, both Li Yi and Sang Chai knew that trading barbs or making threats served no purpose at this moment.
In this situation, what mattered was whose tactics were more sophisticated, not whose tongue was sharper.
Since there was still some time before the market opened, upon arriving at the VIP lounge, Li Yi immediately gathered the company’s trading team to hold a brief meeting.
The spacious VIP lounge was packed with people. Although Li Fuzhao, He Dongying, Bao Chuanwang, and others had been invited to the adjacent VIP Room No. 8, the Star Investment team alone numbered over a hundred.
Li Yi, seated at the head of the table, surveyed the room, then cleared his throat and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m sure you’re all aware of the current situation. In that room diagonally across from us, a pack of jackals is sharpening their claws, preparing to launch an all-out assault on Star Investment and the entire Chinese Chamber of Commerce.”
“Their goal is not merely to bring down Star Investment, but also to tear the entire Chinese Chamber of Commerce apart. They aim to achieve both objectives in one fell swoop and wipe us out completely. Are we going to let them have their way?”
“No… no…”
Everyone roared in unison, their voices shaking the heavens. The overwhelming momentum left Li Futao, He Dongying, and the others in the next room deeply shaken!
“Well said! We won’t let them have their way!”
Li Yi continued, “Our ancestors once said, ‘Those who dare to offend the mighty Han shall be punished, no matter how far they may be.’ Since these wolves have bared their fangs at us, we must make them pay a heavy price.”
“Today’s battle will be a fight to the death. I have only one demand of all of you: you must unconditionally carry out all my orders. Can you do that?”
“Yes… yes… yes!”
“Good!”
Li Yi then added, “All team leaders stay behind. Everyone else proceed as planned and wait in the main hall!”
“Yes…”
At Li Yi’s command, everyone except the team leaders stood up and headed for the hall to secure advantageous positions.
The reason so many people were needed and why they had to scramble for positions was directly related to the current trading method.
After all, stock trading at that time was still conducted manually, unlike the computer-driven systems of decades later.
This method of trading was not only inconvenient but also placed high demands on the team members’ physical stamina and reaction speed.
After all, whenever a stock was to be traded, dozens or even hundreds of people would crowd around a single window. If one didn’t secure a favorable position in advance, by the time their turn in the queue came, the opportunity would have long since passed.
Precisely for this reason, nearly all teams at the time were large in number, with some responsible for decision-making, others for intelligence gathering and analysis, and still others stationed like nails in front of the trading window, ready to pounce at any moment.
But back to the matter at hand: after the ordinary traders had left, the VIP room was left with only Li Yi, Pang Feiyan, Yang Qian, Liang He, and a dozen or so team leaders.
This time, Li Yi didn’t offer any rousing speeches. Instead, he addressed Zhao Xinlan, the finance manager, directly: “Manager Zhao, has our funding been secured?”
“It’s all in place!”
“How much total capital do we have available to use right now?” Li Yi asked again.
“135.5 billion Hong Kong dollars. That includes 22.5 billion from the company’s own funds, 50 billion raised by the Chamber of Commerce, and 63 billion from you personally!” Zhao Xinlan replied.
Hearing this figure, Li Yi furrowed his brow slightly.
Although 135.5 billion sounded somewhat extravagant, it was in Hong Kong dollars—converted to US dollars, it amounted to just over 14 billion.
As far as he knew, the opposing side’s six major conglomerates alone had pooled funds amounting to as much as 18 billion US dollars—and that didn’t even include the funds held by Dolsan and the British-owned group under his control.
If it came down to a do-or-die situation, the other side could mobilize at least 23 billion US dollars—far exceeding their 14 billion.
Fortunately, he still had several billion US dollars of his own—money he’d earned in New York a few months ago.
However, he did not want to touch that money unless absolutely necessary.
After a moment’s thought, Li Yi changed the subject and continued, “Ladies and gentlemen, according to our intelligence, those bastards will target the Bao family’s Wharf Holdings, the Li family’s Hongniao Real Estate, the Ho family’s Ho Group, Li Ka-shing’s Cheung Kong Holdings, the Lo family’s Shengshi Group, as well as Hang Seng and Long Hang banks once the market opens.”
At these words, everyone in the VIP lounge couldn’t help but gasp in shock.
After all, these seven companies were the top-tier enterprises with the highest market capitalization in the entire Chinese Chamber of Commerce, with a combined market value exceeding 120 billion Hong Kong dollars.
The remaining companies, while not exactly small fry, certainly paled in comparison to these giants.
If these seven companies were to collapse, the Chinese Chamber of Commerce would, even if it didn’t collapse itself, be reduced to a sickly, weakened entity.
“Boss, these seven companies are, after all, different from Hengye Real Estate. Their combined market capitalization of over 120 billion Hong Kong dollars is nearly 100 times that of Hengye Real Estate, and their stock prices are relatively high. It’s unlikely the other side will be able to pull off the same trick they used yesterday!” said Pang Feiyan.
Li Yi nodded and said, “Feiyan’s analysis makes perfect sense. From what I’ve gathered, those guys will dump a massive amount of shares early on to drive the market down, then secretly buy up the dip at low prices once the stock price falls!”
No sooner had he finished speaking than Yang Qian, the intelligence chief, immediately stood up and said, “Boss, according to the intelligence we’ve gathered, those people have already privately borrowed shares of several Chinese companies from multiple institutions, but the exact quantities are unknown!”
Pang Feiyan immediately responded, “So it seems they’re indeed planning to crash the market and buy the dip? If that’s the case, shouldn’t we allocate funds to prop up the market?”
No sooner had she spoken than Li Yi shot down her suggestion.
“No, we cannot prop up the market!”
“Boss, if we don’t prop up the market, are we just going to let them crash it so they can buy up those companies’ shares at rock-bottom prices?” Pang Feiyan frowned.
“Exactly. Not only should we not prop up the market, but we should actually cooperate with them in crashing it!” Li Yi said, his words startling everyone.
“But…”
Pang Feiyan, Yang Qian, and the others were all taken aback by Li Yi’s words. Everyone looked at him in confusion, waiting for an explanation.
Time was of the essence, so Li Yi didn’t beat around the bush. He explained directly, “Those bastards want us to prop up the market so they can quickly drain our funds. Once our funds are completely depleted, we’ll be at their mercy!”
“So, my plan is to short these companies’ stocks first, and then go head-to-head with those bastards!”
“Plus, I’ve already worked it out with Mr. Li and Mr. He—they’re going to lend us their shares to trade!”
After hearing Li Yi’s explanation, Pang Feiyan and the others were stunned by his plan.
What kind of crazy move is this? Their goal in crashing the market is to snap up these companies’ publicly traded shares at rock-bottom prices and take control of the entire company.
The standard response would be to pool funds to prop up the stock price, maintain stability, prevent the other side from buying at rock-bottom prices, and simultaneously reassure shareholders and other investors.
Who would do something like this—not only failing to prop up the market but actually collaborating with the other side to drive the price down?
After the initial shock, Pang Feiyan immediately said, “Boss, this is way too risky. If the stock prices of these companies get crushed, causing panic among investors and triggering a massive sell-off, it could be a disaster for us!”
However, Li Yi just smiled and said, “It won’t happen. The stock prices of these companies aren’t very high right now, so there isn’t much room for them to fall. We’ll just make one move, and then we’ll quickly drive the prices back up—we won’t give them a chance to create panic!”
“What if we mess this up…”
Before Pang Feiyan could finish, Li Yi cut in again: “There are no ‘what ifs.’ Follow my plan now. Feiyan, you’ll coordinate with the other side to drive down the market. If they really do start dumping shares, we’ll follow right behind them and sell off our holdings in those companies.”
“Yes!”
“Liang He, you lead your team and stand by to repurchase those shares. As soon as I give the order, you act immediately—don’t give them time to adjust!”
“Yes…”
Just then, the opening bell rang outside…
…….